Cubs, already strong, eye getting even better at trade deadline: ‘Hopefully we get everything we want’

ST. LOUIS — While Cubs players lamented the departure of veteran pitcher Jameson Taillon on Monday, they weren’t naive about any supposed blindside.

They know this sort of thing can happen in this game, particularly when the stakes are as high as they are for this Cubs team.

In the thick of a playoff race and chasing the division-leading Brewers in the NL Central, the Cubs’ championship-level aspirations rest on what happens the next few months.

That starts with Jed Hoyer’s front office getting a last shot at tweaking the roster at the trade deadline, with the intent of best positioning these Cubs for a deep October run.

“You remove the personal stuff as much as you can,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said Monday. “It’s always their job to put the best possible team they can on the field.

“Absolutely, there’s urgency. These games go by fast, and the season gets short. We have a lot of really exciting things ahead of us.”

Believing in the capability of the position-player group, Hoyer & Co. will be fixating on pitching improvements ahead of Monday’s deadline, attempting to strengthen an area of the roster where the depth has been tested by injuries and, in Taillon’s case, underperformance.

Though the Cubs have earned justified plaudits for weathering all those injuries and a monthlong slump to own one of the best records in baseball, going from good to great to even better by winning the trade-deadline arms race can be the difference come October.

“Our group has some pretty special things about it,” Hoerner said. “We’re not perfect, and we’re in a place now where we can definitely make some improvements to a team that’s already really strong.

“The time leading up to the trade deadline does feel different. It’s exciting. It’s an opportunity.”

Veterans of their depth being tested this year — and of that depth proving an issue during last year’s briefer-than-hoped playoff stay — the Cubs are simultaneously excited by who they already have and who they might add, the benefits of setting the front office up to buy at this time of year.

Will Hoyer’s work be enough for the Cubs to catch the Brewers or play deep into October? Time will tell.

“We want to be in this spot,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We want to be contending this time of year and making our team better and better. The guys in this room have done a good job of getting us to where we need to be.

“Hopefully we get everything we want.”

Best Happ play ever?

Left fielder Ian Happ’s throw to cut down a runner trying to advance to second on a hit off the wall in the eighth inning Monday deserved its highlight-reel status.

But just how high does it rank on the all-time great-plays list for the four-time Gold Glover?

“I told Ian that’s the best defensive play I’ve seen him make in the three years I’ve been here,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I thought it was an incredible play.”

“We’ve thrown out a lot of guys together on balls down the line,” said Hoerner, who applied the tag at second base, “but off the wall like that is pretty rare and tough to do.”

Hoerner’s hot

After his four-hit night Monday, Hoerner came into Tuesday batting .432 with 10 RBIs in 10 games since the All-Star break.

“I’ve hit a good amount of line drives, that’s always a good thing. When I’m at my best, I’m hitting balls all over the field,” Hoerner said. “I’ve gotten some balls to fall that weren’t hit the hardest, which always helps.”